Photo: Munsonmunson · Public domainFewer people are out of work in Spanish Fork (2.3%) than in 80% of U.S. towns
The average commute takes 20 minutes each way, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. Spanish Fork grades A− for jobs and income and B+ for walkability. About one in seven stay in Spanish Fork for work; outside it, Provo is the main destination (15%, 9 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Spanish Fork
Spanish Fork has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Spanish Fork went from 8,931 in 2013 to 15,100 in 2023, +69%. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
35% of the jobs based in Spanish Fork are held by workers 29 or younger, against 31% of Spanish Fork’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How Spanish Fork earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Spanish Fork is better than 85% of U.S. towns, #48 of 119 in Utah. Unemployment is its strongest input; job access by car ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (ahead of 64% of U.S. towns). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Spanish Fork could be anywhere from A− to A.
What Spanish Fork’s employers do
15,100 jobs are based in Spanish Fork.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Spanish Fork, 2013 → 2023: 8,931 → 15,100. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Spanish Fork’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Who leaves Spanish Fork for work, and who comes in
On a workday 19,157 residents head out to work, 3,343 work right here, and 11,757 people come in from elsewhere.
About 41,000 people are in Spanish Fork on a workday afternoon, 15% fewer than live here.
0.67 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Out of Spanish Fork to work: where people go
Where Spanish Fork clocks in
15% of workers
9% of workers
7% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
About 20 minutes each way for Spanish Fork’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 6.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Spanish Fork workers work from home, vs 18% across Utah. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,931 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Utah: 82% drive alone, 2% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Spanish Fork goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
The commute in Spanish Fork is mostly behind the wheel
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Spanish Fork is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns, #67 of 119 in Utah. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 5.0% across Utah.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 21,093 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 29% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 12% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 1.4 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 62% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 1.7% of Spanish Fork households have no vehicle (Utah 4.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Spanish Fork’s commuters take a bus or train.
245th of 927: where Spanish Fork ranks among U.S. towns of 34,000 to 66,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 49 | Syracuse UT | 39,909 | $133K | 4.8% | 1.2% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 67 | Draper UT | 50,652 | $129K | 6.1% | 2.4% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 77 | Riverton UT | 47,395 | $127K | 3.6% | 3.4% | 7% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 243 | Carmel NY | 34,442 | $132K | 4.4% | 4.4% | 13% | A− |
| 244 | Grapevine TX | 50,714 | $111K | 6.7% | 4.7% | 14% | A− |
| 245 | Spanish Fork UT | 48,837 | $105K | 6.6% | 2.3% | 15% | A− |
| 246 | Delaware OH | 46,636 | $100K | 7.8% | 2.6% | 16% | A− |
| 247 | Morgan Hill CA | 45,625 | $164K | 4.1% | 5.3% | 13% | A− |
| … | |||||||
| 927 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Spanish Fork, the top three, the last and three more from Utah.
Spanish Fork and the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Springville (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Spanish Fork workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish Fork | – | A− | B+ | 20 min | $104,844 |
| Springville | 7% | A− | B+ | 23 min | $89,816 |
| Palmyra | under 3% | — | — | 30 min | — |
| Mapleton | under 3% | A | B− | 22 min | $133,142 |
| Salem | under 3% | A− | B− | 24 min | $111,117 |
Same-state neighbors only. Palmyra: fewer than 1,000 residents, not graded. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Spanish Fork’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Spanish Fork: questions
What is the median household income in Spanish Fork?
$104,844 (±$6,066) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $95,166 across Utah and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Spanish Fork?
6.6%, against 8.5% across Utah and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Spanish Fork?
20 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Utah and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Spanish Fork work?
15% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Provo (15%, 9 mi), Orem (9%, 13 mi), Springville (7%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Spanish Fork walkable?
Spanish Fork is more walkable than 65% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 10.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Spanish Fork without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 2% of households have no car. 12% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Spanish Fork, from the people who make the trip.
More of Spanish Fork
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.